request for forage-able sticky thread

[Kristal]

Would it be possible to get a thread going on wild food that squirrels can forage after release, please? I would like to introduce my squirrels to some of the things that are safe for them to eat when they are out in the world. I bet you all have a considerable store of knowledge on the subject. It would be great if noob rehab/releasers could benefit from your wisdom ;)

[Runestonez]

with pics please...purslane...plantain...insane!
My neighbours already think hubby and I are nuts...we had a few people approach us as we crawled through the field at the end of the street...they thought maybe we'd found something tasty! Nosey buggers! Wanted to offer them some wild carrot for nommins! :P

[Hannah]

Kristal,

I think the Safe Plants/Trees List thread (http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21510) is sort of what you're looking for.

A complete list of everything wild squirrels eat would be a pretty long list, mainly because different plants are available in different areas. It would be an interesting project, perhaps, and wouldn't be so bad if broken down by region or if it only mentioned major foods. It'd be fun to do something like this -- with pictures and so forth.

Now, if you don't mind me asking a question I usually have when reading these lists. If wild squirrels (usually) avoid poisonous foods, why would a captive squirrel eat it? Is it not instinct that tells a squirrel what not to eat?

[CritterMom]

I think that a lot of it is mimicry - they watch what mama eats. If I want Mister P to eat something, I let him see me eat it first (or pretend to:D ).

[Hannah]

Wow, CritterMom that's interesting. So you have to be careful to model eating the right foods. :tilt

[Runestonez]

I know from working with cottontails they will take a small nip of something and if they don't like it will "spit" it out and immediately followup with hay or grass something to help get rid of the taste.

[Kristal]

I think that a lot of it is mimicry - they watch what mama eats. If I want Mister P to eat something, I let him see me eat it first (or pretend to:D ).


How much more important that we introduce them to the right foods before letting them go off into the world, then?

I do have one hopeful anecdote to offer, though. I looked carefully at my pothos plant, and Rifa has never taken a chunk of it despite "toothing" it many times. Apparently it has a very bitter taste and burns the palate a little.... but at least they have had the sense to not eat my pothos, so that is something.

[muffinsquirrel]

I find that my flyers will not eat what I bring in to them if it is not OK. They just somehow seem to know. But I never offer them just one wild food - always a variety. That way they don't feel that they have to eat something just to get wild foods. If they don't eat something, I don't offer it again...but they don't cull much! I avoid things that I know will harm them, but try nearly anything else I run across. They love all types of wild mushrooms (I have a basic identification sheet of which are good and which are bad). Their very favorite thing is when I bring in an old, rotten branch - damp wood, all sorts of bugs, etc. They obviously consider it a 'flyer smorgasbord', and dig right in. Also, this is for my grown flyers - I break the babies in slowly, but eventually they are eating right along side the grown ones, and fighting over the biggest bugs!!

This is just how I feed mine - you must make your own decisions about yours. I use common sense and expect my flyers to do the same. :D

muffinsquirrel

[pappy1264]

Judy, I do the same thing (with the branches).....they ALL love them! (Can I ask a favor, any chance I could get a copy of the mushroom sheet? I have never pulled in shrooms from outside, always too afraid!)

[Kristal]

I find that my flyers will not eat what I bring in to them if it is not OK. They just somehow seem to know.


Please don't take this the wrong way, but how do you know that if you are not offering bad things? Oh, and I would love to know more about mushrooms, too :) I love wild mushrooms, but I have never hazarded picking one because I don't know how to identify them :/

[Hannah]

Well, I don't know if this is much help, but here's my data:

The major foods I've seen the wild fox squirrels in my area eat are:


Maple Keys or Helocopters (Acer ginnala, Acer saccharum, Acer saccharinum, Acer x freemanii)
Pine cones (Pinus sylvestris, Pinus ponderosa, Picea pungens)
Elm Seeds (Ulmus americana)
Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
Walnut (Juglans nigra)
Apple, Crabapple, Pear (Various species)
Mulberry (Morus rubra)
Winterberry, cores but not fruit (Ilex verticillata)


They eat a few plants on the ground, and some roots, but I'm not so good at identifying what they are eating (Coneflower is one). I've never seen them eat mushrooms, but I suspect they do. Although, most of what they eat is seeds from the trees.

They chew on bark from:

Ulmus americana, Tilia cordata, Acer ginnala, Acer saccharum, Acer saccharinum, Acer x freemanii, Pinus sylvestris, and probably every other tree available :D

[muffinsquirrel]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but how do you know that if you are not offering bad things? Oh, and I would love to know more about mushrooms, too :) I love wild mushrooms, but I have never hazarded picking one because I don't know how to identify them :/


I figure that as long as they eat something and don't get sick, it must be OK for them. The things that they ignore, I figure are bad for them and don't offer it anymore. I NEVER offer anything that I know is bad for them.

About the mushrooms, I have a small 'field guide' type brochure that I picked up at Books A Million. It doesn't show all of the mushrooms, but does show the more common ones. I like it because the mushrooms are shown according to color, so it's easy to find what you are looking for. The pages are 'laminated' so it won't fall apart or get so dirty you can't read it - you can just stick it in your pocket and go out and "stalk the wild asparagus" like Euell Gibbons, if you're old enough to remember the 60's. Oh yes, by the way, mine far prefer the wild mushrooms to the store bought ones.

muffinsquirrel

[pappy1264]

Will have to look for something around here like that....I bet my babies would be happy!